Review by mojosmom (2006-02-13)
Thank you, Amy Tan, for throwing a dinner party! Thank you, Armistead Maupin, for attending that dinner party and conversing with Smith! As a result, Smith, like Maupin before him, began to write serialised fiction about his city for a daily newspaper. Although readers of Tales of the City and its sequels will see obvious parallels (Pat, the young woman on her second gap year who takes up work in an art gallery, is Smith’s Mary Ann Singleton, Bruce, the narcissistic ladykiller, will remind you of Brian, and even Anna Madrigal appears in the person of eccentric Domenica), this is no mere imitation. The stories are their own, the characters unique and interesting, the writing smooth and witty. If you want to slap Bruce, tell Pat she’s too good for him, have a drink with Domenica and rescue Bertie from his pretentious mum, well, that means Smith made you care, doesn’t it? May we have a sequel, please?